Combating gender-based violence and enforcing gender mainstreaming in the EU

The European Institute for Gender Equality and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights sign a cooperation agreement in line with the new EU strategy for gender equality 2010-2015.

The two EU agencies will initiate cooperation in gender mainstreaming and researching in the field of gender equality. One of the main areas of cooperation will be on working to end violence against women in the EU. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) will survey more than 27,000 women in order to collect data on the extent of violence against women in the EU. Given the current lack of comparable data showing the scale and nature of this crime across the EU, there is a real knowledge gap in this area. A range of experts from the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), together with specialists from other institutions, will help ensure that the FRA findings will be widely available to the different stakeholders working to strengthen the fundamental rights.

"Gender-based violence is fundamentally rooted in gender inequality it impacts on the future of women and of men in Europe and the European Institute for Gender Equality cannot ignore the situation.", said Virginija Langbakk, Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality "This new cooperation arrangement with our sister Agency, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, will allow us to pool resources and share valuable expertise and data in the pursuit of this goal", she added.

The cooperation agreement will ensure that the expertise provided by both Agencies is shared and that there is no duplication in the work of the two bodies.

"Violence against women is one of the barriers to achieving gender equality in the European Union that must be tackled. We need a clear picture of the extent of this grave violation of human rights, which affects people we live or work with on a daily basis, "said Morten Kjaerum, Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights. "Working with the EIGE, the Fundamental Rights Agency will gather this evidence, so that policy-makers can make informed decisions about how to put a stop to it."

For further information, please contact the FRA media team and the EIGE press department:

Cooperation agreement [EN](find all language versions available for download below)

Joint statement: International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November [EN](find all language versions available for download below)

The FRA has three key functions:
- to collect information and data on fundamental rights;
- to provide evidence-based advice to the EU and its Member States;
- to promote dialogue with civil society in order to raise public awareness of fundamental rights.

EIGE is a European agency which supports the EU and its Member States in their efforts to promote gender equality, to fight discrimination based on sex and to raise awareness about gender equality issues.